Avengers #229 — Nick Peron

Aug 3

Aug 3 Avengers #229

Final Curtain!

Kidnapped by the Masters of Evil during his treason trial, Hank Pym is forced to work for them now that all hope for his own redemption appear to be lost.[1] Egghead is pleased to have Pym working on a new weapon and takes delight in seeing how defeated his long time foe looks.

Meanwhile, Monica Rambeau watches the latest developments of Hank’s trail from her home in New Orleans. Since her teammates need her, Monica changes into Captain Marvel and makes the trip to New York at light-speed thanks to her powers.

At Avengers Mansion, Captain America tries to get ahold of Iron Man at Stark International because he was working on a device that might prove that Hank’s mind has been altered. Unfortunately, neither Iron Man or Tony Stark are available.[2] In another room, the Wasp and Hawkeye try to console Jennifer Walters, who was forcibly reverted back to human form by the Radioactive Man during their battle with the Masters of Evil. Try as she might, she can’t transform back into the She-Hulk. When Jarvis calls Janet away on Avengers duty, Hawkeye decides to take matters into his own hand.

Jarvis brings Janet to the front door where Scott Lang is waiting. He has come from Stark International on behalf of Tony Stark to deliver the device that can test if Hank’s mind has been altered somehow. When Janet explains what they intend to use the device for, Scott offers to lend a hand as Ant-Man. However, she tells him that this is Avengers business and sees him out. This is partially because she can’t bring herself to see Scott in action as Ant-Man as it would remind her of the early days with her ex-husband.[3] When Janet brings the device to Captain America and Thor, they lament over not having the opportunity to use it now that Hank has gone missing. Captain Marvel can’t believe the defeatist attitude they are exhibiting and suggests that they consider the possibility that Hank was telling the truth when he said he was being framed by Egghead. When Janet points out that Egghead is dead, Monica counters this by reminding them how many villains have seemingly come back from the dead over the years.[4] When she suggests they try using the mind scanner on the Shocker, Captain America thinks Monica might be onto something.

At that same moment, Hawkeye begins mocking Jennifer Walters for her inability to turn into the She-Hulk. This is all an act to get her angry enough to trigger a transformation into her alter-ego. Although Hawkeye gets slapped across the room, his gamble pays off and She-Hulk thanks him for his unorthodox way of helping.

The Avengers all head down to the federal lock up to question the Shocker. When they explain that using the mind probe could help his own case, the Shocker agrees to be exposed to it. When the device is used on him, he reveals that Egghead is indeed alive and staged Pym’s “rescue” to further discredit him.

Back at Egghead’s hideout, Hank Pym has finished building the longevity machine the madman wanted to build. Not trusting Pym, Egghead forces him to use the device first. However, this is exactly what Hank wanted to happen since the device actually seals him in a protective force field. The field can not only protect Hank from all of the Masters of Evil, but also allows him to hack into the Beetle’s armor and make it go haywire. As the villains try to stop him, Egghead cowardly hides under a table to avoid the energy blasts being deflected off the field. With the rest of the Masters helpless, Hank then uses the device’s build in weapons to knock them out one-by-one until only Egghead is left standing.

Meanwhile, the Avengers have learned the location of Egghead’s hideout and have the police set up a perimeter around the property. Suddenly, the Beetle comes bursting out of the ground from Egghead’s underground hideout. While the rest of the Avengers are preoccupied, Hawkeye goes down the hole in the ground and witnesses as Hank Pym finally confronts Egghead.[5] Hank takes great pleasure of pointing out that he was able to defeat the Masters of Evil not any of his alter-egos, but as himself.[6] When Egghead tires to fight back, Hank knocks him out with a single punch. However, Egghead recovers quickly and as Pym turns to walk away he pulls a gun and is about to shoot Hank in the back. Luckily, Hawkeye is able to stop him by firing an arrow right in the barrel of Egghead’s weapon, causing it to explode in his hand. Although Hawkeye expects Egghead to rot in jail for the rest of his life, Hank tells him that’s not going to happen because Egghead is dead.[7]

Recurring Characters

Avengers (Captain America, Thor, Wasp, Hawkeye, She-Hulk, Captain Marvel), Masters of Evil (Egghead, Moonstone, Tiger Shark, Radioactive Man, Beetle, Henry Pym), Herman Shultz, Ant-Man

Continuity Notes

Short version of the story: Hank was kicked out of the Avengers due to his conduct in Avengers #213. Egghead later framed Pym for stealing the government’s supply of Adamantium in Avengers #217, landing him in jail. He was then kidnapped during his trail last issue.
What the Avengers don’t know is that Tony Stark has fallen off the wagon and is drinking again. See Iron Man #167.
Hank started his career as Ant-Man back in Tales to Astonish #35. Later, Scott Lang stole the Ant-Man gear to rescue his daughter. So impressed with Lang’s performances, Hank let him keep being Ant-Man. See Marvel Feature #47-48.
Egghead was seemingly slain when he was caught in an explosion caused by the Cobalt Man in Defenders #43. How he survived was explained last issue (he used a teleporter, because of course he did.)
Hawkeye states here that he has his own score to settle with Egghead. This is because he believes the villain murdered his brother, Barney Barton, as seen in Avengers #64. What he doesn’t know is that Barney survived and Egghead revived him, something that won’t be revealed until Hawkeye: Blindspot #1-4.
Hank runs through the various identities he had over the years: Ant-Man (Tales to Astonish #35), Giant-Man (Tales to Astonish #49), Goliath (Avengers #28), and Yellowjacket. (Avengers #59)
Although Egghead does die here, he manages to cheat death because apparently he had injected himself with a rejuvenation serum before having Hank build a device that would do just that. Whatever, comics are stupid sometimes. Anyway, Egghead will resurface years later in Ant-Man Annual #1.